The ACC that might have been...

[Moontan]

As part of the start of the discussion related to football during "Requiem for the Big East", they showed the results of someone's speculation of "Conference Realignment 80s style". Here is what was predicted as a possible outcome for the ACC:

This was before BE football kicked off and before FSU joined the ACC. It would've been a short stay in the BE but a big boost for SU football.

Imagine what might've been. ACC championships were there to be had in the 90s.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

That's the original ACC 8, plus SU, BC, Pitt, and Miami.

I think the ACC would have preferred FSU over Miami.

After all, the ACC had a choice of either FSU or Miami in the early 90's and chose the Seminoles back then.

 

[cuseinchina]

As part of the start of the discussion related to football during "Requiem for the Big East", they showed the results of someone's speculation of "Conference Realignment 80s style". Here is what was predicted as a possible outcome for the ACC:

View attachment 9056

This was before BE football kicked off and before FSU joined the ACC. It would've been a short stay in the BE but a big boost for SU football.

Imagine what might've been. ACC championships were there to be had in the 90s.

This somehow looks weaker than what we've got today - not sure where the almighty comes in. That said if e had been there since the 80's we would have been able to do a better job dealing with the demographic shifts that have made things difficult from a recruiting standpoint up until now.

 

[Alsacs]

Florida State would have gone to the SEC. They were courted by both the ACC and SEC, but their former AD/President had a better relationship with ACC Commish Corrigan and they went with the ACC.

So then the SEC would probably have added South Carolina and Florida State when they went to 12 teams.

I think Virginia Tech would have been in the ACC somehow.

 

[Moontan]

The same article that had the "Almighty ACC" as listed above, also showed a possible "Super SEC" consisting of:

East: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, FSU, Georgia, Kentucky, Miami, USCe

West: Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

That's right, a 16-team super conference.

Interesting to see Miami listed as both ACC and SEC possibilities. The prognosticator clearly had FSU pegged for the SEC. Also interesting to see Arkansas, Texas & A&M move from the SWC in one fell swoop.

 

[Scooch]

People forget how toxic Miami was back then. The ACC didn't necessarily want them because of the perception of the football program, even though they were a better institutional fit than FSU. There was mutual benefit to both the Big East and Miami when they joined.

 

[All4SU]

That's the original ACC 8, plus SU, BC, Pitt, and Miami.

I think the ACC would have preferred FSU over Miami.

After all, the ACC had a choice of either FSU or Miami in the early 90's and chose the Seminoles back then.

Isn't that precisely what crouthamel went to The ACC to propose at one time?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Isn't that precisely what crouthamel went to The ACC to propose at one time?

I think Tranghese asked the ACC to take SU, BC, and Pitt as FB only members, while we stayed in the BE for Hoops.

 

[Btstimpy]

As part of the start of the discussion related to football during "Requiem for the Big East", they showed the results of someone's speculation of "Conference Realignment 80s style". Here is what was predicted as a possible outcome for the ACC:

View attachment 9056

This was before BE football kicked off and before FSU joined the ACC. It would've been a short stay in the BE but a big boost for SU football.

Imagine what might've been. ACC championships were there to be had in the 90s.

That's interesting. The ACC basically ended up with all of these schools before Maryland's situation. Plus the ACC has Florida State, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Louisville now too. So this idea must have started in the 80s.

 

[SWC75]

I was writing letters back then suggesting an eastern version of the PAC 10:

Boston College
Syracuse
Penn State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
South Carolina (not yet in the SEC)
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Miami, (who would have started up their basketball program again at that point.)

A nice geographical mix of northern teams who like to recruit southern football players and southern teams that liked to recurit northern basketball players.

 

[cuseguy]

I was writing letters back then suggesting an eastern version of the PAC 10:

Boston College
Syracuse
Penn State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
South Carolina (not yet in the SEC)
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Miami, (who would have started up their basketball program again at that point.)

A nice geographical mix of northern teams who like to recruit southern football players and southern teams that liked to recurit northern basketball players.

I was thinking something similar at the time.

I really have only one problem with the current ACC. It's bottom heavy with southern schools (as in North Carolina). There needs to be more balance, but I don't imagine we'll ever see that.

 

[Lou_C]

I was thinking something similar at the time.

I really have only one problem with the current ACC. It's bottom heavy with southern schools (as in North Carolina). There needs to be more balance, but I don't imagine we'll ever see that.

Who do we have to balance with, if Penn State's not in play?

The above looks like an awful football conference by the way.

The eastern Pac 10 is quite intriguing, though. Wonder if that would have prolonged the life of 8-10 team conferences.

 

[Chip]

I think Virginia Tech would have been in the ACC somehow.

Easy to think that now, but back in the day, VT didn't have much going for it. Big East made them, and to their credit, they took full advantage of that opportunity.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I was writing letters back then suggesting an eastern version of the PAC 10:

Boston College
Syracuse
Penn State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
South Carolina (not yet in the SEC)
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Miami, (who would have started up their basketball program again at that point.)

A nice geographical mix of northern teams who like to recruit southern football players and southern teams that liked to recurit northern basketball players.

That group would have had a much better chance of hanging together and sharing the East Coast with the ACC than the Big East ever did.

 

[Cheriehoop]

After the Big East was created, Paterno aggressively tried starting up a Northeast all-sports league with Penn St, SU, BC, Pitt, WVU, Temple and Rutgers. Paterno refused the idea of bowl revenue sharing etc though so SU, BC rejected the invite. Gavitt as a result invited Pitt to the Big East and they obviously preferred the Big East offer. I don't think other universities trusted Paterno not to skew any conference he was proposing to giving Penn St a huge advantage.

 

[Scooch]

After the Big East was created, Paterno aggressively tried starting up a Northeast all-sports league with Penn St, SU, BC, Pitt, WVU, Temple and Rutgers. Paterno refused the idea of bowl revenue sharing etc though so SU, BC rejected the invite. Gavitt as a result invited Pitt to the Big East and they obviously preferred the Big East offer. I don't think other universities trusted Paterno not to skew any conference he was proposing to giving Penn St a huge advantage.

This is the unsaid part of every conversation about the all-sports league Paterno wanted. The guy only wanted one to serve Penn State's greedy desires, and would have made every other member a 2nd class citizen. Like, 10X worse than Texas.

As much as I think the hoops schools not allowing them into the Big East was a huge, long-term mistake, I do understand why they wanted no part of dealing with him and that school.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

After the Big East was created, Paterno aggressively tried starting up a Northeast all-sports league with Penn St, SU, BC, Pitt, WVU, Temple and Rutgers. Paterno refused the idea of bowl revenue sharing etc though so SU, BC rejected the invite. Gavitt as a result invited Pitt to the Big East and they obviously preferred the Big East offer. I don't think other universities trusted Paterno not to skew any conference he was proposing to giving Penn St a huge advantage.

JoePa wanted all the schools in "his" conference to share ticket & concession revenue for all sports ... except football.

Imagine SU selling 20,000+ tickets to a basketball game, and having to share that money with PSU and the rest of the conference, while PSU sells 110,000 tickets to a football game and JoePa keeps every last dime.